


From Under The Skies

by DenebYL



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Ficlet, One Shot, Pain, Platonic or romantic you decide, Post-Canon, larnelo for the soul, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 21:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14222460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DenebYL/pseuds/DenebYL
Summary: To him, Penelo is strong.She is strong for her kind heart, she is strong for her relentless determination, and she is strong for her powerful moral compass.In the way that she had always been there for him, even when he never asked her to.





	From Under The Skies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChaoticRice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticRice/gifts).



> hi so this is for the greatest person in the world who always leaves lovely comments and kudos I cri every time I see "ChaoticRice has left kudos" on one of my fics
> 
> cRIES

To him, Penelo is strong.

Not in the way that she is able to fend off the attacks of even the Twintania, its wings spread in all its glory and its form perfect as a tool of intimidation, a display of strength.  
Not in the way that she is able to wield a two-handed sword, with such power and yet still she maintains balance and posture.

To him, she is strong for her kind heart, she is strong for her relentless determination, and she is strong for her powerful moral compass.

-

The first they met, Larsa knew not what to think.

From under the shades of the golden, rustic pillars that loom majestically above the Bhujerban Mines, Larsa saw Ghis from afar and he approached the Judge, later noticing that the Marquis was right behind him. He does not take notice of the soldier, used to the telltale silver glistening under the ray of sunlight. But he does eventually notice the girl by the soldier’s side.

Larsa first noticed her eyes. Honey brown orbs, perhaps they were as soft and sweet as they are a reflection of the girl who has them – but they were confused, and they were scared. Of course, when he turned to look at her, her face was painted with worry, and the fears were only too obvious. 

So he turned to Ghis, and was beckoned with a reply, as if his mind was read.

“We caught her wandering out of the mines.” He said, voice stern.  
Of course, Larsa knew what would come next, more or less.  
“You must take care with such undesirables about.”

“I was kidnapped-“ The girl spoke, uncertainty entrenched in her tone as it hides all other emotions, though Ghis then turns to shout.

“Silence!”

Kidnapped?  
...

Having pieced two and two together, Larsa pursed his lips and stood between the two.

“If it is a crime to wander on one’s own…”

He stopped in his tracks, and turned to face the Judge. The solid armor coating every inch of him was fearsome and intimidating indeed – no skin could be seen, depriving him of his physical humanity, no eyes could be seen, depriving him of the windows to one’s soul, and no face could be seen, depriving him of any sense of humanity and emotions.  
Larsa is used to it, but he does not wonder why the girl was so afraid – it is obvious, so to say, what with anger and contempt seeping through the mask in the form of words.

“Then I, too, am guilty.”

Larsa then turned to the Marquis, intent on providing shelter for the girl.

“Marquis. I trust that your estate can accommodate another guest?”

“Why not?”

Satisfied, Larsa turned to Ghis once more to calm him. He also does not need for the girl to be hunted down by Ghis – for Larsa knew all too well what kind of a man he was.

“Judge Ghis, I shall heed your counsel. I will not travel unaccompanied any longer.”

Swift as the wind, Larsa then turned towards the girl and he grabbed her by her hands, proceeding to head towards the stairs away from the Mines and into the City.

He was sure that he had heard Ghis say that his actions were unexpected, but he paid no heed to it.

Larsa’s lips curved into a smile, and he then looked towards her.

“Thank you, Penelo.”

“O-Of course.”

And Larsa remembered that at the Estate’s Drawing Room was where he truly got to know Penelo.

For Larsa, The Drawing Room is one of the few places where he finds that he can truly be at peace.

For when he is troubled, his heart in turmoil and his mind clouded, the trickling flow of water kept him at ease as he takes deep breaths to empty his mind and remind himself that he must stay strong.  
For when he when he loses himself in his work, the breeze passing through the open reminds him that there is a world out there that beckons for him.  
For the sunlight that blesses the walls and the floors were apt, and he truly appreciates the open room for what it is, even at night when the moon and the stars would have him reminisce of calmer pasts, or even of the beauty that lies untouched beyond the skies.

“So Vaan really is all right.”  
Her expression was that of relief, and her small smile was more than enough for Larsa to know then that she had had at least one burden of worry off her shoulders.  
“I didn’t think I’d get to see him again…”

Larsa noticed that her tone grew sad, as if she had been well prepared for sorrow and despair.

“You will join him soon.” He assured her. “And until then, I shall see that you’re kept from harm.”

“Thank you.”

Silence grew between them, and Larsa found anxiety tugging at his heartstrings, the comfort of the drawing room providing no ease whatsoever.

“I am troubled.” He put his pen down, and spoke his mind.

“The Rabanastre Imperial guard seem to have overstepped their bounds. I intend to speak on this with the Consul.”

“What?”

“Vayne Solidor, the Consul, is my brother.” Larsa stood up, and walked near where she was sitting.

Her expression was that of surprise, and she did little to hide it – a gasp escaped her lips, and Larsa is but a little confused.

“The first duty of the Consul is to maintain order in Dalmasca. My brother – my brother is not one given to failure. Perhaps things aren’t going as well as they might be… But give him a little time, and he will put things to rights.”  
Larsa pleaded as he looked towards the skyline, the bright afternoon sun greeting the Archadian boy, the cyan sky painted with dashes of white making its way past the buildings that stood tall and mighty on the floating continent. He looks where the clouds and the lands were parted, and his eyes were filled with hopeful expectations – but they were not baseless. They were that of admiration and knowing.  
“Be not troubled. My brother is a remarkable man.”

Silence enveloped the bubble between the two, and her response was something that had grossly missed his expectations.

“He frightens me.”

A thousand thoughts paced through Larsa’s mind as he turned towards her, puzzled.  
Fright? From his brother? His brother was a vessel of peace, a man of wits and will, brains and brawn… His brother was a man that kept true to his words. There was no reason for anyone to be afraid of him.

“Why?” 

She turned to face him, and her eyes were apologetic. Her honey brown eyes did nothing to hide her emotions that, as she had just said, were now of fright and all its shades of grey.

“I’m sorry. He is your brother. It’s just – you don’t understand how much we lost to the war.”  
She takes a breath, and she turns to look the other way, a different and clear cyan sky was what she saw, and the buildings were few and smaller. She looks towards where the horizon continues, and her eyes were filled with melancholic reminiscence – but they were not baseless. They were that of grievance and mourning.  
“My friends, my parents.”

Silence, once again. Of course. Larsa does not quite understand, he was not privy to being a victim of war. But he knew how much the War had cost Dalmasca too.

“So, you fear the Empire?” He asked, and the reply that he had received was a quiet nod.

He did not wish to add to her fears and anxiety, and so he walked towards her, and kneeled in front of her, his earthy brown orbs seeking hers.

“Listen to me.” He pleaded.  
“The men of my family, we are taught to place the needs of others before those of our own. I will see that you are kept from harm. It is my duty to House Solidor.”

He remembers how she looked at her – doubtful and scrutinising, and somewhat hesitant to reply, but she had to. What she asked... It was not wrong of her to ask.

“But how – how can I trust you?”

Larsa is a man of his words – and so he decided that he would make a promise.  
He placed a hand on his chest, where he knows his heart is, and Larsa hoped that she would give him a chance - if not his brother that he loved beyond words and has looked up to for as long as he can remember, and if not for the Empire for which he has stood by for since he was born.  
“Because I give you my word. My brother would do no less.”

-

And Larsa learned, throughout the journey that he took with her and the others, that he was wrong.

With every attack, every civilian that the Soldiers had executed, with every Judge that he heard that had fallen, with everything that he had seen with his own eyes.

The feeling of betrayal was bitter, and it hurts.

His emotions were turbulent, a hurricane in his heart that strikes where it sees fit. His mind was in despair, all his other thoughts have abandoned him. He thinks it is the same way that he had abandoned seeing what his brother’s rule was – a farewell to reality.

He thinks that it was funny how in Bhujerba, Penelo saw clear skies and he saw clouded skies.

So when the night falls on the day of Bahamut’s demise, Larsa hugs her, and tears streamed down his cheeks.

She holds him in her arms, and she pats his shoulder, whispering words of encouragement that eventually faded into comfort as they stood in silence under the brilliant starry skies, under the watchful moonlight.

To him, Penelo is strong.

In the way that she was ever accepting of the people around her, that she was relentlessly caring and affectionate. In the way that she had restored peace between Kingdoms and in doing so, had opened his eyes to the reality that he had been blind to.

In the way that she had always been there for him, even when he never asked her to.

And under the stars, he promises to her that he will do the same.

**Author's Note:**

> hi I accept compliments in the form of keymashes
> 
> also insults
> 
> but make sure it's unintelligible so I can't feel pain.
> 
> also please attribute grammar mistakes to the fact that I wrote this side by side with the cutscenes playing on the left side of the screen as I wrote frantically on the right.
> 
> SIGHHHHs angrily.


End file.
